Raiffeisen Bank International AG Cuts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 5.1%, resulting in ownership of 218,878 shares valued at approximately $49.9 million.
• Waste Management recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, reflecting a yield of 1.4% and a dividend payout ratio of 48.96%.
• Following recent upgrades from multiple analysts, Waste Management's consensus rating is now a "Moderate Buy" with a price target averaging $254.35.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG lessened its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 218,878 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,645 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG owned approximately 0.05% of Waste Management worth $49,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 2,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 192.6% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 303,773 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $70,326,000 after acquiring an additional 199,949 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 16,106 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,729,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722 shares during the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 14,615 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,384,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $228.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $231.49 and a 200 day moving average of $228.26. The firm has a market cap of $92.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.69 and a 1 year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.

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